Program Overview
Overview of the MPH in Community Health Program
The MPH in Community Health program is designed to prepare students to promote health in urban communities using social and behavioral sciences. The program focuses on planning, managing, and evaluating public health programs aimed at reducing social and behavioral threats to community health in a social justice framework.
Program Details
- Program Format: ONLINE/ON-CAMPUS HYBRID, FULLY ONLINE
- Program Duration: FULL-TIME, PART-TIME
- Scholarships: AVAILABLE
About the Program
The curriculum addresses the social determinants of disease and health inequalities with a corresponding emphasis on structural theories of change. Students learn to plan, manage, and evaluate public health programs aimed at reducing social and behavioral threats to community health in a social justice framework.
Admissions Information
Admissions Requirements
- Completed SOPHAS application
- Undergraduate degree from an accredited university with GPA (overall and major) of at least 3.0 preferred
- Personal statement/statement of purpose (recommended length is 500 words)
- Background in the field: paid or volunteer experience in public health or related field
- Resume
- 2 Letters of recommendation
- TOEFL scores are required if language of instruction for prior degrees was not English
- Transcript evaluation from WES or ECE for foreign transcripts
- Strong foundation in social and natural sciences; statistics or calculus strongly recommended
Application Deadlines
- Spring 2026 application deadline is December 1, 2025
- Fall 2026 applications deadline is March 1, 2026
Curriculum
Foundational Knowledge
- PUBH 601 Foundations of Public Health Knowledge
Core Coursework
- PUBH 610 Introduction to Health Systems, Policy, and Management
- PUBH 611 Health Equity, Communication, and Advocacy
- PUBH 612 Designing and Evaluating Public Health Interventions
- PUBH 613 Designs, Concepts, and Methods in Public Health Research
- PUBH 614 Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis Methods in Public Health Research
Required Coursework
- CHSS 622 Community Organizing to Advance Health and Social Justice
- CHSS 623 Applied Mixed Methods in Community Health Research
- CHSS 624 Community Health Program Planning, Evaluation, and Sustainability
- CHSS 625 Advanced Seminar on Intersectoral Partnerships
Elective Coursework
- Three (3) electives chosen in consultation with faculty advisor
Practice Experience
- CHSS 696 Community Health Practice Collaborative I
Culminating Experience
- CHSS 698 Community Health Practice Collaborative II
Total Credits Required
- 42 credits
Recommended Course Sequence
These sequences are recommended for full-time students. Part-time students are encouraged to meet with a staff advisor to map out an appropriate plan of study.
Competencies
Core Competencies
- Evidence-based Approaches to Public Health
- Public Health & Health Care Systems
- Planning & Management to Promote Health
- Policy in Public Health
- Leadership
- Communication
- Interprofessional and/or Intersectoral Practice
- Systems Thinking
- Environmental Sciences
Concentration Competencies
- Discuss socially just and culturally responsive principles and strategies to community organizing, community health assessment, program planning, implementation, or evaluation activities
- Engage with communities to assess health problems and inequities, and propose actionable solutions
- Critique and analyze the interdependency of structures and systems that shape health in complex and dynamic ways
- Develop research or an evaluation plan and analytic approach that will inform solutions to community health issues
- Evaluate the roles that diverse sectors and interdisciplinary collaborations can play in community health initiatives
- Analyze how structural bias, social inequities, poverty, and/or racism undermine health and health equity
Maternal, Child, Reproductive and Sexual Health (MCRSH) Coursework
For students interested in Maternal, child, reproductive and sexual health (MCRSH), CUNY SPH offers specialized coursework and mentorship opportunities designed to provide a theoretical understanding of and foundation for research in these topics.
Alumni Outcomes
Alumni outcomes data was collected via surveys of CUNY SPH alumni one year after graduation from 2016 to 2022.